BCG MATRIX

History
BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP (BCG) MATRIX is developed by BRUCE HENDERSON of the BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP IN THE EARLY 1970s. It is based on the PLC model to determine how much importance to be given to any product of the company

 It is mainly used in analysing the product portfolio of the company Analyzing a industry It consists of two phases relative market share and growth rate of the company or the industry

Relative Market Share

Its brand's share relative to its largest competitor If the brand had a share of 20 percent, and the largest competitor had the same, the ratio would be 1:1. If the largest competitor had a share of 60 percent; however, the ratio would be 1:3 Implying that the organization's brand was in a relatively weak position

THE BCG GROWTH-SHARE MATRIX

It is a portfolio planning model which is based on the observation that a companys business units can be classified in to four categories: Stars Question marks Cash cows Dogs

It is based on the combination of market growth and market share relative to the next best competitor.

STARS High growth, High market share

Stars are leaders in business. They also require heavy investment, to maintain its large market share. It leads to large amount of cash consumption and cash generation. Attempts should be made to hold the market share otherwise the star will become a CASH COW.

CASH COWS
Low growth , High market share
They are foundation of the company and often the stars of yesterday. They generate more cash than required. They extract the profits by investing as little cash as possible They are located in an industry that is mature, not growing or declining.

DOGS
Low growth, Low market share
Dogs are the cash traps. Dogs do not have potential to bring in much cash. Number of dogs in the company should be minimized. Business is situated at a declining stage.

QUESTION MARKS High growth , Low market share

Most businesses start of as question marks. They will absorb great amounts of cash if the market share remains unchanged, (low). Why question marks? Question marks have potential to become star and eventually cash cow but can also become a dog. Investments should be high for question marks.

WHY BCG MATRIX ?

To assess : Profiles of products/businesses The cash demands of products The development cycles of products Resource allocation and divestment decisions

BENEFITS
BCG MATRIX is simple and easy to understand. It helps you to quickly and simply screen the opportunities open to you, and helps you think about how you can make the most of them. It is used to identify how corporate cash resources can best be used to maximize a companys future growth and profitability.

LIMITATIONS
BCG MATRIX uses only two dimensions, Relative market share and market growth rate. Problems of getting data on market share and market growth. High market share does not mean profits all the time. Business with low market share can be profitable too.

Maruti 15%

Hyundai Tata motors

Mahindra

CONCLUSION
Though BCG MATRIX has its limitations it is one of the most FAMOUS AND SIMPLE portfolio planning matrix ,used by large companies having multi-products.